A holiday, falling on the night of 31 October to 1 November, celebrated by the ancient Celts and by modern neo-pagans as the beginning of winter and the new year, and a time during which the spirits of the dead could return to the earth.
Used in a Sentence
samhain
Definition, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for samhain.
Editorial note
More likely, religious beliefs changed many times, and Samhain was itself a syncretic combination of a new belief system with pre-Samhain harvest festival practices.
Examples16
Definitions1
Parts of speech1
Quick take
A holiday, falling on the night of 31 October to 1 November, celebrated by the ancient Celts and by modern neo-pagans as the beginning of winter and the new year, and a time during which the spirits of the dead could return to the earth.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of samhain gathered in one view.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for samhain.
noun
A holiday, falling on the night of 31 October to 1 November, celebrated by the ancient Celts and by modern neo-pagans as the beginning of winter and the new year, and a time during which the spirits of the dead could return to the earth.
Example sentences
More likely, religious beliefs changed many times, and Samhain was itself a syncretic combination of a new belief system with pre-Samhain harvest festival practices.
No Halloween or Samhain festivities in your neck of the dark, creepy woods?
And the inclusion of cartouches around the lunar phase drawings plus a lovingly illustrated entry for Samhain suggests the artist is a neopagan of some kind, which could be a slight tell for femininity.
You'll need something like Samhain to spot the breach when it happens.
Nobody cares about Samhain but they care about candies.
As far as I know, the modern historical consensus is that Samhain had no link to the dead and that aspect comes entirely from Christianity.
That's the period between Samhain and Imbolc.
> As far as I know, the modern historical consensus is that Samhain had no link to the dead and that aspect comes entirely from Christianity.
As esteemed historian of folklore, Ronald Hutton, summarises it in his Stations Of The Sun (Oxford, 1996): […] > For Frazer, Samhain had been nothing less than the pagan Celtic feast of the dead.
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Quote examples
That this meant the new All Saints Day fell on the “quarter day” of Samhain was pure coincidence.
Also, the 1st of January is described as "civil new year", which implies there's some other new year on a different day, which could be samhain.
It mentions a feast of All Saints in its listing for April 20: > Under November 1, on the other hand, we do find – finally – a reference to “Samhain”.
Proper noun examples
The story here is likely off on the wrong foot from the start: our Halloween isn't really meaningfully connected to Samhain.
For example the harvest work would traditionally begin the day afer Samhain, halfway between the summer solstice (Midsummer) and the autumn equinox.
The bonfires are Irish and were always lit on Halloween (Samhain).
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use samhain in a sentence?
More likely, religious beliefs changed many times, and Samhain was itself a syncretic combination of a new belief system with pre-Samhain harvest festival practices.
What does samhain mean?
A holiday, falling on the night of 31 October to 1 November, celebrated by the ancient Celts and by modern neo-pagans as the beginning of winter and the new year, and a time during which the spirits of the dead could return to the earth.
What part of speech is samhain?
samhain is commonly used as noun.